Why The Blah Blah is Hard to Do

Doing The Blah Blah is hard. Sure, there’s the sometimes overwhelming amount of e-mails, the work it takes to give an insightful opinion, the weeding through mediocre or bad music, etc. but that’s all pretty normal.

What makes it hardest is that I want to showcase artists who are Christians and are making above-average music, especially those in the indie music world, but definitely not limited to them. What’s so hard about this is that most Christians in the indie music world don’t want to be identified as Christians, for various reasons, and most that want to be identified are not making above-average music. You can debate the ethics of either side all you want, but the truth remains that most good independent Christian artists don’t want to be pigeon-holed as “Christian artists.”

So it’s hard to find out who’s a Christian and who isn’t.

This makes me think that maybe it doesn’t matter. Maybe it would be better just to write about music that I like and forget the whole faith issue. This would be OK and might work for a while, but I really do want someone to do a site that is mostly devoted to good music made by Christians, because there’s a lot of people who want that. There’s a ton of Christians burned-out from a CCM-infused market who don’t know there’s anything better out there and feel like the only option is secular music that promotes a humanist worldview. I listen to plenty of music made by non-Christians, and I still think there are more non-Christian artists making great music than Christians, but I think the world needs to know that you don’t have to make CCM records if you love God. And the church needs to know it.

The church needs to know there’s good music out there. It needs to know Peter Hicks, Page France, or Solomon Jabby aren’t heretics for not being on major Christian labels. Some of them may be heretics, but it’s not for their choice of record labels. The world needs to know God is a creative God open to all forms of music, even if it doesn’t come from Nashville. And the indie Christian hipsters need to know God might even be open to someone as uncool and CCM as Shane and Shane.

I think someone needs to do a site like The Blah Blah, but I just wish it were easier. I wish people were more open about what they believed, and more open to accepting others for their opposing beliefs. In a world that prides itself on being open, understanding, and politically-correct, independent artists get a lot of flack if they even mention they go to church or they grew up in a Christian environment. And Christians get a lot of flack if they’re on a secular label, perform with secular bands, and play at, heaven forbid, bars or college parties, where people actually need to hear about God. Maybe someday we’ll be past all this judging a band for what their faith is, but it sucks right now.

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8 comments

Kudos to you. I sure as heck wouldn’t wish the job on myself, but I appreciate your perspective and the artists you unearth. I’ll even throw you a few bones:

Timbre [harpist, has a solo album called Winter Comes To Wake You and played on Anathallo’s and mewithoutYou’s albums]
Anathallo [new album Canopy Glow is great]
Serena-Maneesh has Emil from Royal (remember them? Back in the Soulscape/Tooth & Nail days?)
Austrian Death Machine is a joke-metal homage to ‘Ahhhnold’ by Tim Lambesis (As I Lay Dying)
The Out_Circuit [Nathan Burke from Frodus, great album called Pierce The Empire With Sound]

Keep up the good work. I found your site specifically looking for non-CCM music, and in a Joy-FM market, its hard for me to even know where to start. i don’t expect to like everything you or your fellow bloggers point us to, but its awesome when you find a gem!

I would like to say your blog rocks and I have found some amazing music because of your recommendation. I am not into mainstream music, whether “christian” or not, and your blog has been awsome in keeping me up on great non-mainstream stuff. Thanks for all the hard work.

Thanks for the encouragement guys, and thanks, Jordan, for the music tips. I just downloaded Anathallo’s new album the other day. I think it just may be my favorite of theirs… Serena-Maneesh hasn’t grown on me yet, but I definitely think they’ll be a regular in my playlists after a few more listens.

I understand not wanting to be pigeon-holed as a Christian artist. You mentioned that it’s difficult to tell who is and isn’t a Christian—isn’t that the truth? With so many denominations it’s hard to even agree on what a Christian is. The problem is that you can sing the name of Christ fifty times in a set, but you may be an alcoholic or a fornicator off the stage. Christians want to be able to look up to their musical heroes, so when they find out these “Christian” singers are living double lives it throws a wrench into that type of blind idealism. What people ought to be after is not Christian lyrics or heroes, but Christlike living and a life of integrity that is the same on and off the stage.

Labels are easier, though, than looking at somebody’s life. If I was God, I’d give everyone a little post-it note that would miraculously stick to their forehead. It would either say “Christian” or “Not Christian” on it, written, of course, by the very hand of God. There’s probably a reason I’m not God, though. lol